When buying real estate it is possible to put a small percentage down. This means that any appreciation in the value multiplies your original investment.
As an example, lets see what happens if a stock you are invested in goes up by 10% versus what happens if a property you own goes up by 10%.
If you invest in $10,000 in stock and it goes up by 10%, the stock is now worth $11,000. You are ahead by $1,000. Not to bad.
Now, what if you had invested that $10,000 in real estate? With a $10,000, you can put a 10% down payment on a $100,000 property. If the property appreciates by 10%, the property will be worth $110,000. You are ahead by $10,000. That's much better!Note that you can use leverage to buy other investment. For example, call options can be used to but stock. However, this is considered a riskier way to buy stocks. With real estate, 10% down is common and no additional collateral is needed; leverage is the normal way to buy real estate, not the risky way.
One thing to keep in mind is that leverage is a double edged sword. Any loss is also multiplied. If you put down $10,000 on a house that cost $100,000 and it loses 10% in value, you have lost your original $10,000 investment. If it goes down 20% you are now $10,000 in the hole! There are dangers to leverage.